Vara
Introduction The planet Vara was a charming, hospitable, though somewhat chilly place, known for its splendid mountain ranges and azure waters, until a series of regrettable occurrences in the year 24BBY left it a smoking ruin. Its native people, the Varvani, are more or less human in appearance. However, their world's gravity (.93 of the galactic standard) has given its people an average height greater than that of humanity, and in many cases a notable delicacy of build. Eye colours are more exotic than human norms, ranging through shades of brown, amber, green, blue, and violet, though never red. Rumours of some uncanny power, especially in their priestly caste, are no doubt exaggerated. Their galactic reputation is that of a queer, artistic, highly feudal people, somewhat set in their cultural ways, yet very flexible when it comes to making a living. They are shrewd businesspeople, the reason their race survives at all today being that they had several trading fleets in space at the time of their world's unfortunate demise. These homeless Varvani flocked at once to the Corporate Sector, under the leadership of their sole surviving royal, Beatrix Vara. History Royal Family The royal house of Cassimar reigned over Vara for umpteen thousand years. Their capital city of Viridis was the jewel of their world, a mountain paradise set amidst a chain of clear blue lakes, where artists and musicians and aristocrats flocked together to create an elegant and sophisticated life. Royal patronage was essential, and throughout much of history it flowed richly. It was reputed to be impossible to lie to or cheat a Cassimar; their court was a less cut-throat place than most, and those royal scions who did not remain cloistered within the palace or serve in temples were known for dispensing justice almost infallibly in the high courts over which, when they got up early enough, they presided. Their rule was more or less fair, unless you happened to be too noisy or demanding, and more or less benevolent, unless they didn't like your hairstyle. What renown they enjoy outside their own sector is chiefly for their heraldic emblem, the Varvani direcat, a fearsome and intelligent feline seemingly impossible for any but the House of Cassimar to breed in captivity. Society (Archivist's Note: Must have one of the interns go over this material and replace all the present tenses with past tenses. Not urgent, though.) Sari and Sare Varvani society is notable for its division of all its citizens into two categories, "Sari" and "Sare" (which terms, in their ancient tongue, translate as nothing more illuminating than "Left" and "Right"). In the early years after the rediscovery of the planet by the rest of the universe, there was some confusion about these terms, which were initially taken to be synonymous with "Female" and "Male". It is true that most female Varvani are Sari and most male Varvani are Sare; however, some twenty percent of Varvani women, and fifteen percent of Varvani men, make the opposite choice at their age of majority. For a woman to become a Sare, or a man a Sari, is regarded as a brave choice, but not a dishonourable one; and those who go against the majority in that manner often become highly regarded within their particular spheres and are held up as examples. Legally, female Sare and male Sari are indistinguishable from their counterparts of the opposite sex; practically speaking, allowances are made for the differences between them, e.g. a female Sare is granted leave from her obligations in the outer world when she is heavy with child. The universal masculine pronoun shall henceforth be used for Sare, and the universal feminine for Sari, for this chronicler finds it exhausting always to be drawing attention to the exceptions which are understood to exist. The roles and duties of each half of the population are carefully circumscribed. Public life, government, commerce, the military, and the law, are the realm of the Sare; while the Sari are responsible for private life, religion, medicine, and the rearing and training of the young. But those are simply the broadest shades: every task in a Varvani household, every subtlety of Varvani etiquette, every phrase in the Varvani language, is the province of Sare or Sari. Sometimes they're quite surprising to outsiders; for instance, there are restrictions upon what property a Sari may own, but a married Sare turns over his entire salary to his Sari, to be disposed of as she sees fit. If he's lucky, she'll assign him a generous allowance, but there have been cases in which a Sare kept on too short a financial leash has successfully appealed to the courts for control of a larger percentage of his income. These rules become stricter further up the social scale. Working-class Varvani are often comparatively lax in their divisions of labour, especially in the last several centuries, while the nobility is known for being exquisitely particular. A Sari of the highest birth is almost never seen outside her own home, and only her closest family members and retainers are permitted to look upon her face. Youth Schooling is much the same for all Varvani children up to the age of eleven, at which time a division is made between those who will attend vocational schools until the age of sixteen, and those who will pursue a more academic path, which may last any number of years. Whichever sort of formal education they receive, they are generally encouraged to pursue whatever interests them, be it Sari or Sare, and try on many different hobbies and professions. Any Varvani office or shop is typically awash with part-time interns, the children of those who work there and their relations and friends, learning from their elders and seeing if this is the path they wish to take. Some pass through briefly, others stick. At the age of 17, young Varvani celebrate the Ceremony of Affirmation (so named because it is usually just that, an affirmation of their essential nature, which has made itself apparent over the preceding years), after which they take their place in adult society as either Sari or Sare. Love and Marriage Ancestor worship is an important part of Varvani religion; and marriage, being linked very closely with procreation and the necessity of handing down to the next generation the religion by which it is sanctified, is always between a Sari and a Sare. One must be male and one female; secular and sacred law are indifferent as to which is which. The lower classes have greater freedom to marry as they wish, whereas the upper classes customarily enter into negotiated alliances with other families of similar wealth and antiquity. There is a saying that each marriage contract is unique -- this may be an exaggeration, but it is true that Varvani have several different flavours of marital union to choose between, and that contractual modifications agreed upon at the time of the signing are binding in perpetuity upon both partners. Divorce is unknown, though there is a mechanism in place to obtain (not without difficulty) the annulment of a marriage. A betrothal may be arranged at any age, but marriage may not take place till both parties are at least seventeen years of age and have formally declared themselves Sari and Sare. The theoretical uncertainty which remains until that point requires certain interesting clauses in betrothal contracts, and romantic literature abounds with examples of, for instance, a young lady choosing to become Sare in order to avoid being given in marriage to a man she loathes, and, by doing so, cutting herself off permanently from the hope of wedding the one she truly loves. Casual polygamy is not uncommon amongst the aristocracy. A Sare of considerable resources may maintain any number of Sari of either or both sexes, only one of which, however, will be his official spouse. To be the concubine of a well-placed Sare is regarded as rather better than being the spouse of a Sare who is nothing in particular, provided one's family's ancestors are being well-taken care of by one's siblings and their legitimate offspring. However, to be the child of a noble Sare and his concubine is to exist in a misty in-between state, neither one thing nor the other, and such persons often find it difficult to marry. (But they have fabulous novels written about them, so it evens out.) Informal liaisons are socially permitted, between any combination of masculine or feminine Sari or Sare. Sometimes these relationships are ephemeral, sometimes they amount almost to a second marriage. It is regarded as extremely bad form to enter into such an arrangement without the knowledge if not the blessing of one's spouse, and to sneak about behind people's backs; however, it is also regarded as bad form to be too overt in one's romantic activities. The ideal is an open secret: something everyone knows, but which is never discussed. Death Varvani funeral customs are vastly complicated. Culture Trivia Direcats The Varvani direcat is a splendid and powerful feline quadruped, equipped with six razor-sharp claws on each paw and prodigious quantities of teeth, often growing to reach seven feet in length and four feet in height. Some have solid-coloured or mottled coats, in shades ranging from a deep blue through blue-grey to black; the rarest markings, however, which are thought to be most beautiful, are stripes. They are the symbol of House Cassimar, and have always enjoyed royal protection -- a protection, indeed, as fierce as the creatures themselves. Big game hunters from throughout the galaxy have been known to pay any price for safe passage into the Varvani wilderness to pit themselves against these intelligent creatures; and a few intrepid smugglers have managed to steal away specimens for off-world zoological gardens. However, the only direcats successfully bred and raised to maturity away from their homeworld are the population on Sayo Station. Category:Planets Category:Non-coded planets